The year is 2004. Norwegian student Marianne meets Yoann in Paris and falls in love with him. They move in together in the municipal housing where Yoann grew up just outside Paris, where all his parents’ belongings and things still remain. The following year, Marianne becomes pregnant. Shortly after, Yoann disappears from her life. At the same time, violent riots break out around her. Cars and parking garages are set on fire; police stations, schools, and bakeries go up in flames.

A French Family is a novel about intersecting life trajectories and lost connections, about loneliness and submission, powerlessness, and violence.